Why Ghana Must Explore New Approaches to Mining - Wacam

By Ernest Kissiedu

The Executive Director for Wacam, Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, has emphasized the need for Ghana to rethink the approach to mining investments in the country.

This, she admitted, would help curb and control the various negative effects associated with mining in Ghana.

Speaking at a Stakeholder Forum on the 'Campaign against Irresponsible Mining Activities in Ghana', Mrs. Owusu-Koranteng noted, "Surface mining everywhere in the world present risks especially when monitoring of mining activities is weak."

According to her, for many years in the history of mining in Ghana, policy direction had been skewed towards maximizing benefits to facilitate development.

"Mining for development is not just about tax revenue but about ensuring that mining is carried out in a manner that will conserve nature in line with economic principle of analyzing pollution in terms of the effect on rational decision-making within the interaction of irreversibility associated with uncertainty under the precautionary principle," the Wacam executive director explained.

Mrs. Owusu-Koranteng added that policy direction should create opportunity for other land users to have access to clean and healthy environment and ensure quality life of citizens devoid from rights violations.

Working with about 80 mining affected communities, Wacam has seen the harsh realities of the mining impacts on communities with respect to destruction of communities' access to water, clean environment and loss of livelihood.

Other negative effects include human rights abuses, heavy metals seepages and spillages into the environment, which have translated into health risks.

Consequently, the executive director urged all stakeholders to work together as Ghanaians and seek solutions that would enable policy-makers to enrich policy choices.

In this regard, she commended the government for the fight against illegal mining.

Adding his voice, Founder of Wacam, Mr. Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, observed mining issues are complex and quite complicated.

"The issue of mining is a hoax. Compensations are hardly paid and community members are left on their own fate."

"... And the mining laws that we have in Ghana are all promotional laws. They promote mining. We need stronger regulations in the industry," he lamented.

Mr. Owusu-Koranteng described mining as a massive destructive economic activity that does not give Ghana much.

"In 2014, mining gave the country just 0.08% of GDP as against other economic activities," the founder remarked.

Director of local NGO Tropenbos Ghana, Mr. K. S. Nketiah said legal mining has very serious negative impacts not just on water bodies but also on people's livelihoods, health and the environment as a whole.

He believes there is some confusion among people on how to differentiate between illegal mining - popularly known as 'Galamsey - and legitimate small scale mining.

"The phenomena of irresponsible and illegal mining are not new; people have perpetuated these over several years. There have been several attempts by different governments to address the challenge. Yet, for diverse reasons, we have not been too successful as a country," Mr. Nketiah stressed.

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